


Yeah, Still Into You

by Lightning5



Category: Hunger Games Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-12-24
Packaged: 2019-03-26 19:23:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13864371
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lightning5/pseuds/Lightning5
Summary: It doesn’t happen often when your high school boyfriend is your sibling’s little league coach.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hawtsee](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hawtsee/gifts).



> Hawtsee is the most patient person on this planet because this was requested about a million years ago. I didn't edit this because I was so excited to post it. So, if you find any mistakes, kindly let me know.

Madge checks her purse for the third time as she waits for Lucy to come down the stairs. _Keys? Check. Wallet? Check. Water bottle? Check. Snacks? Check. Book? Check_. Her pullover hoodie is in the car along with her sunglasses and blue camp chair is folded up in the trunk.  They need to get out of the house now.

“Luce! Put a little pep in the step!”

“ _I can’t find my glove!”_

“Check your bag!”

“ _It’s not—”_ Madge hears her rummaging through said bag. “ _Oh. Got it!”_

They might make it to practice on time. Madge waits by the front door as Lucy thunders down the stairs.

It’s been a month since Madge’s stepmother asked her to take Lucy to her softball practices and three weeks to her games. Madge was fine with that and still is happy to do it. The only thing that bothers her is that her father and stepmother stopped showing up to the games. She’s brought it up once or twice, but they brush it aside because _they’re busy_. Right. So, she does her best to cheer Lucy on from the stands when she’s up to bat and stays for her practices.

“C’mon Madge you don’t want to keep _Coach Gale_ waiting,” Lucy teases as she runs to the car.

“It’s like you want to _walk_ to practice,” Madge mutters under her breath as she starts the car while Lucy fiddles with the stereo.

Madge was surprised when she took Lucy to that first practice and found Gale Hawthorne shouldering a bag full of softball equipment from his truck to the field while his little sister Posy ran over to warm up with Lucy before the other girls got there. It doesn’t happen often when your high school boyfriend is your sibling’s little league coach.

That first meeting makes Madge groan in thought because it was the most awkward conversation she thinks she ever had and Gale thought the same because he texted her that night as she was getting ready for bed.

**_10:34 p.m.: I know today was weird but I’m hoping that it doesn’t stop you from coming around to practices and games._ **

**_10:34 p.m.: This is Gale btw idk if you deleted my number._ **

**_10:36 p.m.: Maybe you blocked me? But for some strange reason you have your read receipts on? So messages are definitely going through._ **

**_10:37 p.m.: Sorry…I should stop_ **

If it was one thing she remembered about Gale Hawthorne, then it was the fact that he only sends multiple texts when he’s nervous. So, she wrote back and told him that next practice they’ll start over. Now, they’re friends again which if someone told nineteen-year-old Madge, she would have rolled her eyes and said, “yeah right,” and walked away not in the mood to argue.

Their break-up was anticipated once Madge started college and Gale continued at the community college while working at his dad’s hardware store full-time. The phone calls and text messages started to decrease right toward the end of her freshman year and it sounds like they gave up as soon as she returned to campus after the winter holiday, but they did truly try. Their schedules never lined up, so visits were scarce; calls were missed, and messages wouldn’t be answered right away. Simply put, they grew apart. It sucked but it happened and at least now they’re mature enough to be friends.

Arriving at the field, Madge notices a few of the girls already lazily tossing the ball. At least they’re not the last ones there. Lucy fends of Madge’s attempts to put sunscreen on her face before getting out and joining her teammates. Madge is pulling out her chair when the familiar black truck pulls into the spot next to her car. It’s not fair the way her heart rapidly beats and she tries to act casual when she makes eye contact with Gale as he climbs out of the truck wearing his usual coaching attire. Sneakers with a beat-up pair of jeans, navy and gray ¾ length sleeve baseball shirt, and a baseball hat from their local little league.

“Hey, Madge,” he says before leaning against the bed of the truck to grab the necessary bags. It’s not fair how good he looks in those jeans. In fact, it should be illegal. She says her hello to both Hawthornes and walks with Gale as Posy runs ahead.

“Running a little late?” she teases.

Gale huffs and points at Posy. “I blame that one. She forgot her cleats at home and we had to turn back halfway here.” The other parents acknowledge Gale and Madge as they get settled into their chairs like the one Madge carries.

“I better set up. You staying?” It sounds hopeful, but Madge doesn’t get _her_ hopes up and tells herself that he’s just being polite.

“Uh, yeah. I’m staying.”

“Cool,” he says and he gives her another smile before he jogs onto the field.

Practice runs as smoothly as expected with a group of thirteen twelve-year-olds, but Gale has the whole coaching thing down. The girls take a lap around the field before partnering up to catch for a few minutes before Gale gives them each a position so they can work on their fielding for Saturday’s game. As there are only nine positions, three of the girls would act as runners.

“Alright. We have a runner on first,” Gale says, pointing his bat towards Becca, who has both hands on top of the batting helmet she’s wearing while first baseman, Sophie G., hovers nearby. “One out and what do you think the next batter is going to do?”

“Hit the ball!” Posy jokes from her position near second base. It earns giggles from her teammates while Gale shakes his head in mock annoyance. Madge hides her smile behind the book she brought.

“Yes, but how—and don’t yell out ‘ _with the bat’_ because that’ll be a lap, Pose. Is she going to swing away or—” Gale crouches down a little while holding the bat out in front over the plate “—is she going to bunt?”

All the girls yell out the second option. Gale nods at the faux batter, Mia who stands near the batter’s box on the first base side, takes the softball and shows a bunt before he taps it towards the third base side. The runners take off as Sophia M. scrambles to get to the ball and launches it over to first to get the out which of course doesn’t happen because both runners have safely reached their respective bases.

“Alright, let’s try that again.” Becca returns to first while Mia moves back to the starting line. “So, when a batter shows a bunt, the first and third baseman move up toward home plate because the ball is going to be hit to one of you. When that happens, you call it, right? ‘My ball! My ball!’ and you throw to first. Posy, since you’re playing _second base_ , you need to get your butt over to _first_ so at least we can get the out there. It leaves our initial runner at second, in scoring position, but now we would have two outs instead of one. Make sense?” He waits for everyone to nod. “Cool, let’s do it again.”

* * *

 

Lucy trudges up to Madge after Gale reminds the group about Saturday’s game.

“Good practice?” Madge smirks as Lucy collapses in the chair. The sun’s almost setting and they need to get home for dinner.

“The worst,” Lucy groans. “Everything hurts. Leave me here to die.”

Lucy is known to be dramatic and it’s only increased with age. _Thirteen is going to be fun_ , Madge thinks. She keeps with Lucy’s tortoise-paced walk to the car. With Lucy already in the car, Madge gets everything in the trunk. She shuts it and looks up to find Gale standing near her, patiently waiting for her. She’s sees that Lucy has her car door open and she’s talking to Posy. Both girls are trying their best to seem like that they’re not paying any attention to their respective siblings, but they’re doing a poor job of it. Madge gives them a look to get them to turn away.

Deciding to take the initiative because Gale looks like he wants to say something, Madge simply asks, “What’s up?”

“Well, I try not to let Posy dictate my social life, but she thinks I should go out more. And I was wondering if you might want to see a movie Saturday night?”

“Using your sister to get a date?” she responds with a smile. It works because he sheepishly grins.

“First for everything. I’m surprised she didn’t ask for me.”

Madge agrees. Hell, that sounds like something Lucy would do. She looks over at the girls to find them waiting for her answer just like Gale in front of her.

“Okay then,” she says, tucking her hair behind her ear. The girls almost get away with their whispered cheers but both she and Gale catch them just as they’re about to high-five.

“Really, guys?” he asks in annoyance. Both girls shrug and high-five anyway.

* * *

Friday night dinner at her childhood home are always quiet. Sure, there’s small talk between Madge and her stepmother, Jean and her dad asks about her music teaching at the elementary school. She knows it’s difficult for him to accept that she did not want to get into politics like he did at her age.

Luckily tonight’s dinner isn’t going to be filled with the same chatter because Jean and Dad have a dinner to attend that they just couldn’t say no to. Madge called bullshit while Lucy said it out loud, thankfully waiting until their parents were out of earshot. Madge still flicked her ear for cussing.

Instead of having dinner in the dining room, the girls were in the den with boxes of pizza and marathoning _Harry Potter_ until they fall asleep.

“Are you ready for your date?” Lucy asks, nonchalant as she reaches for another piece of pizza.

“It’s just a movie, Luce. Literally what we’re doing right now.”

“Yeah, but it’s different. You’re interested in Coach Gale.”

Madge slowly chews the last of her slice as she regards her younger sister, who is completely focused on Harry entering the Burrow for the first time. Lucy and Jean didn’t come into Madge’s life until she was 21 so Lucy doesn’t know that Madge and Gale used to date. Unless, she snooped through Madge’s social media (she didn’t have the heart to delete the pictures, okay? They were cute together. Sue her.) since Lucy was finally allowed to have Instagram.

“You know I used to date him.”

“Who? Ron Weasley?”

“No,” Madge scoffs as Ron disappears in a flash of green flames. “Gale.”

Lucy finally looks away from the screen with wide eyes. “Are you joking right now?” Madge shakes her head. “When?”

“High school.” A pause. “A little bit of college.”

The younger girl continues to stare at her in shock letting the brand-new information to sink in.

“Wow. Posy was right.”

_Wait, what?_ Madge pauses the movie to look at her sister who mirrors her position.

“Posy told you?”

“Yeah, I thought she was playing a joke on me but then she showed me pictures,” Lucy shrugs, unlocking her phone and Madge can see her scrolling through Instagram. _Madge’s Instagram_. She finds what she’s looking for and angles her phone, so Madge can see. A younger version of herself and Gale smiled back. “You guys were cute, I guess.” She pulls her phone away.” So, we decided to try to help you guys get back together.”

“Oh, Luce,” Madge said, trapping her in a hug and squeezing her tight despite her protests. “You care!”

Lucy’s able to pull back but stays in Madge’s embrace, slightly embarrassed if the pink cheeks were anything to go by. Madge learned early on that Lucy wasn’t a fan of the “mushy stuff”, meaning hugs, but in the three years since their parents married, she’s let Madge hug her on occasion. It doesn’t stop her from rolling her eyes and muttering a “whatever” under her breath.

* * *

 

Once the other parents and girls head out after the game and Gale gives Posy a twenty-dollar bill for the snack bar, they talk about the date that is supposed to happen later at night.

“I know we agreed on seeing a movie, but would it be okay if we had dinner instead?” Madge asks, shouldering Lucy’s duffel bag as her sister runs after Posy not to be left with the two adults. “I feel like we have a lot to catch up on.”

The thing about Gale is that he’s stoic. If someone were to look up the phrase “strong and silent” it would result in a picture of him. The weeks leading up to when they first got together was so frustrating to Madge that she practically yelled, “ _Are you my boyfriend? Yes or no?_ ” after a day spent at the beach and it shocked him into replying, “ _Uhh…yeah? I thought we’ve been dating this whole time? My mom wants to meet you._ ”

Obviously from their last interaction he’s gotten better but watching him gather his stuff before he gives her an answer is still nerve-wracking. “Dinner and a movie?” Okay, a compromise.

“Dinner and maybe a movie? It’s just…I want to hang out with you and I kinda don’t want to spend it in a theater, silent for two hours, you know? Does that make sense?”

Gale nods, removes the baseball hat on his head, and plops it onto her head. “You’re freaking out.” He starts for his truck and she follows.

“I’m not.”

“Pretty sure you are.”

“Gale—”

“Madge, we’re going to dinner. Nothing too fancy cause that’s not your thing and then after dinner I’ll do whatever you want to do. I want to hang out with you especially when our sisters aren’t eavesdropping on our conversations.”

He opens the passenger side door only to slam it shut and Madge hears twin gasps before Posy and Lucy pop up from the bed of the truck with sheepish looks on their faces.

“I’ll pick you up at seven.”

“Sounds good,” Madge sighs. “Luce, get out of there.”

It wasn’t until they were on the road when Lucy points out that Madge is still wearing Gale’s hat.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took forever! I think that just proves that I haven't been on a date in awhile lol

The date itself is fine. Dinner at one of those new dimly lit restaurants that made it difficult to read the menu. Madge couldn’t help but laugh at Gale struggling to read the small print, muttering under his breath. It gives her a chance to check him out. She keeps staring at the opening of his gray Henley. It’s so obvious, she’s surprised he hasn’t called her out on it. After taking another sip of her cider, she breaks her rule about having her phone out during dinner and turns the flashlight on for him to end his struggle.

“I think you need glasses. You’re getting old.”

“No,” he says, taking the phone as she smirks. He runs his hand through his hair as he quickly scans his menu. “Why would they make the font so small? Do they not want people to see what they have?”

“They don’t want anyone to see the prices.”

“Make sense. Holy shit,” he whisper-shouts, pointing at one line. “There’s steak for like a hundred dollars.”

Money was never an issue in Madge’s household, but she knows that’s the exact opposite for the Hawthornes. Owning their own business helps somewhat, but Madge remembers how frugal Gale would be when they were out whether it was for food (ordering the cheapest thing) or just shopping for new clothes. Often, he would check the price tag and if it was expensive he would remove his hand so quick it was as if the tag burned him.

After trying to make sense of why a steak would cost that much and placing their orders with their waiter came the awkward silence. Stoic Gale plays with his napkin while Madge takes a quick look around. Other patrons seem to be having the time of their lives. A lot of them were the older crowd with few families scattered around the place. _Family_. That’s a safe conversation topic between the two exes. It works because Gal lights up immediately and Madge doesn’t stop the smile from forming as he starts talking. She learns after going to school he partnered with his dad on the family business, Rory’s been traveling around the country with his girlfriend and Vic’s doing the same thing Gale did and going to community college while working part-time at the store. She tells him about the school she works at and some of her favorite stories about the kids she’s taught. About her father and Jean; how Lucy was the shyest thing when they first met which Gale can’t believe with the way she and Posy act when the two are together.

Between trading stories and eating their respective dinners, Madge notices how relaxed the air between them is. They’re not as tensed as when they first sat down. She won’t deny that maybe the second raspberry cider may have played a part. They squabble over the check finally coming to an agreement to split it. Madge feels good about the date, so when they get to the car and Gale asks her what she wants to do next she blurts out that they should go back to her apartment.

“To talk!” she insists when he pauses from reversing out of the parking space.

“Talk? Or _talk_?” Making sure to elongate the last word to get the point across. She knows he’s joking when she catches the way he presses his lips together to stop himself from smiling at her embarrassment. She lightly shoves his shoulder before huffing and crossing her arms.

“You’re a jerk.”

“Aw, come on. Look.” He puts the car in park and cuts the engine before offering his hand to her. Instinctively, she takes it and finds herself relaxing as he gently squeezes her hand, his callused thumb rubbing what it could reach on the back of her palm. “I told you earlier that all I wanted from this was to spend time with you. You want to talk,” he says, shrugging his shoulders. “Then we’ll go back to yours to do just that. You call the shots and I’ll follow, okay?” After she nods, he presses a kiss to the back of her palm which surprises her because damn it makes her melt just a tiny bit. Sue her.

He doesn’t let go until they’re out of the car only to grab her hand again as soon as he gets around to her. _Holy shit_ , she’s gone. Holding hands seems like the simplest thing but Madge is 100% here for it. Her last boyfriend wasn’t big on hand holding or just anything involving PDA which, yes, she gets, but damn she wasn’t asking him to heavily make out with her! She wants someone to hold her hand, maybe even a strong arm around her shoulders. Anything!

“I can make some coffee,” she says as soon as they’re inside. Once she sets the coffee machine to brew, she turns to see him with a grin on his face as he looks at the framed pictures she has scattered around the living room, his hands behind his back. She never would have thought in a million years that her ex-boyfriend would be standing here in her apartment and yet here he was, about to pick up the framed photograph she had of themselves with Peeta and Katniss. Her eyes widen as she rushes over. “That’s uhm—”

But Gale held it out of her reach, much to her annoyance. It’s unfair how tall he is.

“Wait, wait, wait. Let me see.” He dodges another swipe and backs away. She protests but it doesn’t stop him from taking a good look at the picture. His brows furrow as his eyes dart from person to person.

“It’s us…from my senior year, right?” She nods even though he’s not looking at her. “Peeta looks the same. Katniss…smiling? Ha! Who would have thought?”

“That’s why I have it out.”

“Not because of us?”

“Now why would I do that?”

Gale tilts the frame toward her, well down to her level. It was from one of the many parties thrown by the baseball team, so the reason from Katniss’ smile was probably because she was drunk and had Peeta by her side. He wasn’t even looking at the camera but was grinning at Katniss. Madge remembers how Katniss tried to downplay her feelings for the youngest Mellark, but Madge could see through that lie. Photo-Gale had one hand behind his back no doubt hiding his red solo cup with his other arm wrapped around Madge who was tucked into his side and had her _perfect-child-of-the-local-politician_ smile in full effect. So, yeah okay, they did look good.

“I mean…we’re like tens,” Gale chuckles. “I’m sure if we were characters of some movie or show people would ship us.”

 “I’m an eleven. How do you know about shipping?”

 “Posy told me all about it and you’re not disagreeing with me.”

“I mean, you’re just stating facts.” She gently takes the frame and primly sets it back in its place before getting comfortable on one corner of her couch, toeing her shoes off to tuck her legs under her. He takes the seat next to her and throws an arm around the back of the couch, his hand close enough to touch her shoulder which isn’t a big deal because they had held hands not too long ago.

But now she’s more aware of how close they are because they weren’t in public. She turns to face him, leaning against the back of the couch, mindful of the way her knee presses against the side of his thigh. She swears he leans his head a little closer to hers or maybe she’s the one getting closer? The scent of his cologne relaxes her and honestly, all she wants to do now is tuck herself into his side and close her eyes for a little bit. But she can’t. She _won’t,_ because they should really talk about what they want out of this, right? It’s probably best to start with a simple question—

“We’re on the same page, right? Dating again. We’re doing this?”

“Yes,” he firmly says. No hesitation so that’s good. He didn’t pull back so even better. “Technically, we started at about 6:55 when I picked you up,” he adds with a soft smile. She returns it with a roll of her eyes.

“I just wanted to make sure because this feels…too easy,” she whispers, glancing down at her hands in her lap. He reaches up to cup her face, offering her a reassuring smile when she looks at him.

“I know. I don’t deserve a second chance with you—”

“Don’t say that, Gale.”

“It’s true.”

“No, it’s not,” she insists, grabbing at the hand cradling her face. It’s like a punch to her stomach when she sees the devastated look on his face. It’s the same look he gave her when they broke up. “It was mutual…we—”

“No, Madge. It was my fault. I was pulling away from you…I felt like I was holding you back from having the _full college experience_.”

“You weren’t! You—Gale.” She sighs in frustration, letting him drop his hand from her face. It’s so like him to think he knows what’s best for everyone around him but not himself. He never understood that it’s okay for him to be a little selfish. “If you didn’t deserve another chance then I would have said no to the date. I wouldn’t have hung around after practices and games to talk to you.”

“You wouldn’t have taken my hat,” he sighs, with his bashful smile. The smile that she fell in love with all those years ago. Physics, fourth period. It wasn’t Gale’s strongest subject so their teacher, Ms. Trinket, suggested Madge for tutoring since he needed to keep his grades up to play for the baseball team. So, they would meet during lunch or after school if he had an early practice. It wasn’t until they were a few tutoring sessions in when he was able to figure out a complicated problem when he gave her that smile. It caught her off guard and that was when she realized she had a crush on him.

“You gave it to me,” she argues, emphasizing her point by poking at his chest. He grabs at her hand, gently pressing against it so it flattens against his chest. His bashful smile is gone replaced with his usual serious look that is betrayed by his rapidly beating heart. He is just as nervous as she is.

“I know I’m here to talk but I…I really want to kiss you,” he says. “But I won’t do anything unless you say so, okay?”

Madge nods as she slides her hand up and to the back of his neck, lightly pulling him to her. He tightly wraps his arms around her waist which makes her inhale sharply and she’s hit with his cologne again making her squeeze her thighs together at the sudden rush of arousal. Seriously, what cologne is that? She says, “Please kiss me,” so fast she sounds desperate which yes, it’s true but that’s neither here nor there.

The only thing that matters is the way he’s taken control over the kiss, trapping her bottom lip before seeking her tongue out with his own. She moans and starts leaning back so she can lay down, but Gale breaks the kiss, panting as he presses his forehead to hers.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, just need a second. You were right, this kinda feels like a dream,” he softly laughs. It’s quiet for a few seconds before the suggestion leaves her mouth.

“We can cuddle? I can find something for us to watch.”

“Netflix and chill?”

She rolls her eyes as she stands up with the intention of going to the kitchen to get the coffee. He grabs her hand. “I will happily Netflix and cuddle with you, Madge Undersee.” He sounds sincere, but she can see the mischievous glint in his eye. To stop his grin from forming, she swoops down to steal a kiss, taking her hand back and walking away. She doesn’t see Gale falling back against the couch with a lovestruck expression.

They decide on _The Office_ and by the fifth episode, Madge can barely keep her eyes open. She’s unabashedly laying on top of Gale, her head tucked under his chin and feeling content. Cuddling is the best, she thinks before letting out another yawn.

“Maybe I should head out.”

“No, I like you right here.” He chuckles quietly and continues tracing circles on her back. “Besides it’s already late. And don’t even say you’ll take the couch because one, it’ll mess up your back—” She picks her head up to see his amused expression. “—and two, we’re adults who can share a bed, right?”

“Okay, but I don’t have any pajamas.”

“Oh my god it’s like this was your plan all along. I’m on to you, Hawthorne.”

“It was. I can’t believe you fell for it.”

Madge finds a pair of oversized sweatpants for Gale to sleep in. Well, oversized for her. She’s already in bed, wearing her usual boxy t-shirt and shorts when he returns from the bathroom with the pants barely reaching midway down his calves. He can only shake his head as he gets under the covers next to her while she does her best to stifle her laughter. She turns off her bedside light and automatically curls into his side. He softly kisses her forehead with a contented sigh.

“We have to get a lot of sleep because we’re going to be questioned by the girls every day from now on. We need all the strength we can get.”

Madge groans into his chest because she is one hundred percent not looking forward to Lucy and Posy asking for every little detail.

“Don’t ruin this date,” she jokes. “It was going so well.”


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wanted to do just one more chapter before the end of the year so here it is! Happy Holidays!

The sound of an alarm wakes Madge up the next morning. Groaning, she burrows into her pillow as if that make the alarm stop. She feels Gale moving around, muttering before tapping his phone. “Sorry,” he says, throwing his arm around her waist.

“Who sets an alarm on Sundays?”

“Someone who goes to the gym.”

That sounds like the worst thing to do on a Sunday morning. She would rather stay in bed nice and warm than do that. She opens her eyes find Gale watching her in amusement. She takes in his sleepy eyes and extreme bedhead, noting that her hair is probably worse but doesn’t care at seven o’clock in the morning. Gale pulls her closer, sneaking his hand under her shirt to lightly scratch her back.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers again. “Can I make it up to you?”

With a question like that there are many options she can go for. She decides the PG-rated answer is the best…for now. She steals a kiss and says, “One cup of coffee please.”

“You got it.” She wasn’t expecting him to hop out of the bed so fast to fulfill her request.

“Wait!” He’s already at her bedroom door when he turns around. The comically small sweatpants he borrowed are slung low on his hips and it doesn’t help that sometime in the middle of the night he took his shirt off. Does he go to the gym every day? She sits up and gestures for him to come back.

“Don’t you want…” he trails off as she pulls him back on the bed as she moves the covers off so he’s hovering over her, his lower body settled between her legs.

“I can wait for coffee when it’s a reasonable time to have it.” She watches as his eyes darken before leaning up and placing a sweet kiss on his lips. “What I want—” She slowly runs her hands up and around his shoulders, making him shudder and drop more of his weight on her. “—is more time with you in this bed.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

* * *

Her coffee’s ready about three hours later.

* * *

“Did you guys hold hands?”

“Where did you go?”

“Did you get ice cream?”

“Did you kiss?”

“Ew, Lucy! That’s my brother! Gross.”

“What? That’s what people do on dates,” Lucy shrugs, dropping her duffel bag into the trunk while Posy pretends to gag. “They get dinner, talk and kiss goodnight.” She turns to Madge who watches the exchange in amusement. “So, did Coach Gale kiss you?”

Madge gives Lucy a container of grapes to share with Posy and says, “We held hands. Donnie’s. No ice cream. And no comment.”

“Oh, that’s a yes! Pose, you owe me a Gatorade.”

While the two girls argue about whether the kiss really happened, Madge turned around to look back and the practice field where Gale is talking to one of the parents. It’s been a few days since their date/sleepover (thank god the girls don’t know about that) and there’s not much to report because nothing’s really changed since then. The texting has picked up a little and they managed to squeeze a lunch date the other day.

Since he’s the coach and she’s a pseudo parent, the dynamic between them in public remains the same. No hand-holding or kisses hello. They’re keeping it professional in front of the girls and other parents. It’s hard, especially with the looks he gives her when no one is paying attention. On second thought, it’s plain rude.

So, throughout practice she fires off a few texts even though she knows about his rule about having his phone on silent during practices and games. Madge watches as the conversation ends and Gale turns, pulling his phone out while picking up the bucket of softballs.

**_[3:35 p.m.]: I know what you’re doing and it’s not going to work_** when he did his own stretches making sure to flex his arms.

**_[4:03 p.m.]: Did you just wink at me?_** as he sent the girls on their water break.

Madge shakes her head slightly at the sight of his smile as he makes his way over to them. He glances around the parking lot as the last parent drives away before he stoops down and places a quick kiss on her lips causing their respective siblings to react in their own way.

“I’m going to be _sick_!” Posy shouts while Lucy laughs in delight.

“Guess I’ll drop you off at home while we go to dinner,” Gale says. He gives Madge a questioning look because they didn’t make dinner plans tonight.

“That should be fine. Luce, just let Mom know you’ll be home later,” she adds, while Posy looks at her brother with suspicion.

“Where?”

“ _Sae’s_.”

It’s silent while the Hawthornes maintain eye contact, waiting for the other to break. Madge stands there unsure of what to do. Even Lucy looks up from her phone.

“I feel a lot better now,” Posy says, tossing her duffel to her brother as she darts into the car. Gale sighs in feigned exasperation while Lucy giggles and Madge hides her grin behind her hand.

* * *

Gale taps on his steering wheel to the song on the radio while Posy looks out her window. He checks his rearview mirror to see Madge’s car right behind him, the sisters singing along to what they were listening to. He shakes his head and smiles.

“I like that Madge’s your girlfriend,” Posy says. Gale glances at her. She’s fiddling with the buttons on her letterman jacket. “She makes you smile more—which is weird. Honestly, it freaks me out a little.” He knows she’s joking but keeps quiet and focuses on the road. “But I can tell you’re happy.”

“I am. I haven’t felt like that in a while.” He turns into the parking lot and quickly finds a spot. Shutting off the ignition and getting out of the car, he continues, “You’re kinda to blame, you know. _‘Gale, you need to go out more. Ask Madge if she likes movies—'_ ”

“Yeah, yeah! Blame me for helping,” she scoffs, back to her normal self, running ahead to get to Lucy. He shrugs, walks up to Madge, who tucks herself into his side. The girls are already inside being greeted by the hostess and led to a table.

“We should get in there before they order everything off the dessert menu.”

“It’s not like _Sae’s_ has a lot of choices of dessert. Posy will probably get a brownie with ice cream on it.” They’re near the steps so he slows down and pulls her off to the side. She turns with a raise of her eyebrows while he clears his throat.

“I just…Pose said some stuff in the car. Nothing bad, I swear. But I’m just glad you said yes that day at the field. I hate sounding cheesy, but I feel amazing, like on top of the world. God that was super cheesy, please stop me at any time….”

She leans into him with her head tilted up, so she can catch his lips in a deep kiss to stop his rambling. His eyes are still closed as she pulls back with a grin.

“I’m happy that you asked,” she says as she disentangles from his embrace to take his hand and lead him up to the entrance. “Let’s go in before they really do order everything.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments and kudos are appreciated! My tumblr name has changed to [everything-is-aces](http://everything-is-aces.tumblr.com/) if anyone wants to chat or send me prompts! Trying to get back into writing again.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments and kudos are greatly appreciated! Leave one below or [here on tumblr](http://lightning5.tumblr.com/)!


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